It is well known in motor vehicles to provide an air bag module for protecting a vehicle occupant. It is also known to provide an air bag module including an air bag and an inflator for generating gas to inflate the air bag upon sensing predetermined vehicle conditions. It is also known to provide an air bag module for lateral protection of the head and upper body of a vehicle occupant.
For example, the prior art has disclosed an air bag module for protecting the head of the occupant which includes a housing mounted at the comer of a side window in a vehicle. An air bag and an inflator for inflating the air bag are stored in a folded condition within the housing. Upon air bag deployment, two lateral edges of the air bag run along two guide elements mounted to the vehicle to partially cover the side window, thus providing partial lateral protection to a vehicle occupant.
The prior art modules have the shortcoming of being cumbersome and difficult to package in the limited space available in the side structure of the vehicle. For example, the housing which holds the inflator and the entire folded air bag either takes up a significant amount of room in one localized position or severely limits the size of the inflator and air bag that can be deployed for lateral protection. In addition, these assemblies also require packaging of extra parts, such as guide elements, special tracks, or cables, within the side structure of the vehicle. Due to design and styling considerations, there is often not sufficient space available to mount either the inflator or the inflator and air bag in the upper side roof rail area of the vehicle.